President Joe Biden’s administration is arguing that its legislative proposals should still be considered bipartisan even if congressional Republicans do not vote for them.
Administration officials said the measures Biden has pledged in recent weeks — including a massive $2 trillion infrastructure plan — enjoy public support from Democrats, Republicans, and independents, according to polling.
This means Biden, who campaigned as the “unity” candidate, does not need to work with congressional Republicans to pass bipartisan policy, one Democratic strategist said.
“Biden is taking a bet that Congress is more divided than the country and, with an ability to appeal directly to the voter on policy issues, he can circumvent a polarized Congress that will likely take a long time to get its act together in terms of working across the aisle,” the strategist told The Hill.
Biden has already argued that his coronavirus relief package, which faced Republican opposition, was bipartisan because Republican governors and mayors whose states and localities were hit hard by the pandemic supported it.
“It’s been overwhelmingly popular. If you live in a town with a Republican mayor, a Republican county executive, or a Republican governor, ask them how many would rather get rid of the plan. Ask them if it helped them at all,” Biden said during a recent event.
When asked whether he would work with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on his new infrastructure plan, Biden said he is only worried about Republican voters’ opinion.
“I think the Republicans’ voters are going to have a lot to say about whether we get a lot of this done,” he explained.
Republicans, however, argued there is nothing bipartisan about forcing controversial and costly legislation through a divided Congress.
“The reality is, if you’re going through budget reconciliation on something, you’re doing that because you’re not going to get bipartisan support,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist and ex-deputy chief of staff to former GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said.
